CAMPAIGN AD WATCH: Ohio Republican Party's 'Big Spenders' commercial

Where to see it: Statewide television and on the Internet at www.youtube.com/

watch?v=t1Ezj22ncVM

Video: The 30-second spot opens with a black-and-white photograph of a scowling President Barack Obama next to the U.S. Capitol. A black-and-white picture of David Pepper, the Democratic candidate for state auditor, is shown, and then newspaper help-wanted ads fill the screen. In the next shot, Pepper's face is shown again, next to a stack of money and the caption, "Pepper raised taxes." The money is replaced with pictures of office furniture and then a boat.

A photograph of Democrat Maryellen O'Shaughnessy is shown as the ad switches its focus to the Democratic candidate for secretary of state. Next to her picture is the caption, "Career Politician" and "Ran for 5 offices."

Next, a building exterior is shown with a large sign "Going out of business!"

O'Shaughnessy's picture returns as stacks of money fall into view with the caption, "O'Shaughnessy nearly doubled her own pay." In the final shot, mean Obama is flanked by Pepper and O'Shaughnessy under the caption, "Ohio can't afford Pepper and O'Shaughnessy."

"Neither can David Pepper. As unemployment doubled, Pepper lobbied for millions in higher taxes, and Pepper used our tax dollars to buy everything from expensive office furniture to a boat.

"Then there is Mary Ellen O'Shaughnessy.

"She's a career politician who has run for five different offices.

"As Ohio lost jobs, O'Shaughnessy used our tax dollars to double her own pay.

"Washington spending is bad enough.

"Ohio can't afford Pepper and O'Shaughnessy."

Analysis: This ad by the state GOP aims to bloody up two Democratic candidates in down-ticket races that wouldn't matter much except that the officeholders each have a seat on the powerful five-member state Apportionment Board. The panel (which also includes the governor and two legislators, one Democrat and one Republican) will draw legislative boundaries next year that will influence elections for the next decade, so the stakes are high.

But like many commercials this year, it's heavy on innuendo and a bit loose with the facts.

The unflattering picture of an unpopular president and help-wanted ads remind voters how unhappy they are about the nation's economy and current leadership.

But the claim that Pepper "raised taxes" and used the money to buy a boat is false. The truth is that Pepper, as a Hamilton County commissioner, signed off on a homeland-security grant obtained last year by the county sheriff to buy an all-weather watercraft for law enforcement to use in the Ohio River. According to T he Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis, a Republican, was so ticked by the ad's assertion that he fired off a complaint to the state GOP.

Pepper did, however, spend tax dollars on furniture after he was elected, but he says it wasn't to replace anything; he says his office had no furniture.

As for O'Shaughnessy, she has run for office several times in the past decade-plus, but so has her opponent, Jon Husted, a 10-year state legislator.

The pay-increase claim is either blatantly false or wildly misleading. She got pay increases while on Columbus City Council, but they were nowhere near 100percent. The Republican Party would not comment on the data, but it appears the only way to make the math work is to compare her former council salary with her current salary as county clerk of courts. That is like criticizing someone for getting a pay raise after earning a big promotion. She won the clerk's seat in a countywide election and took the salary that was set in law, similar to how Husted got a pay increase when he was elected House speaker in 2005.

- Catherine Candisky and Jim Siegel

ccandisky@dispatch.com

jsiegel@dispatch.com

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